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The MBR Big Question

This is a dead easy way to win a £100 worth of Chain Reaction vouchers. All you have to do is answer the following question. I'll be picking the best answer, which might be the most/least helpful, insightful or funny.

The Big Question for September is:- Is illegal trail building a good or bad thing?

To get you started. A good thing, all legal trails were illegal once. More trails means less conflict with other users.

Re: The MBR Big Question

Is this another one of those wow look at our new portable shower, it's so good it's made me bankrupt (plumbing in required) hooray for nokia users you're all ace and I want to give you free money type wastes of my valuable time?! If so, and I suspect so as this is your first post, feck off and keep your 'vouchers'. If not, maybe an introduction prior to 'wow look what I can give you for free!' type posting.

When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race.

Re: The MBR Big Question

I would say "no". While it may bring short term benefit to the users of such trails, at best it is frowned upon by others, and at worst it may be criminal damage. At a time when MTB'ing is protective of it's image in areas such as future access to forests etc, we should be avoiding anything that may detract from our good name. I have sympathy with naughty trail builders, and in many case their work will be conducted with care and consideration, but I feel that in this present political climate any thanking rider will do nothing that could harm MTB'ing or it's image for the riding community at large.

I would question the statement about all trails being illegal once...Bridleways etc have a history of lawful cycle access, and even before the law was ammended to allow cyclsts to use them it was never actually illegal - it was an activity that had simply never accounted for by the ancient lawmakers, and just fell through the cracks. Now we simply fall through the ruts left by horses hooves!

•••••• Fartblood All Terrain Cycles ••••••
Making the Stain worth the Pain since 1969

Re: The MBR Big Question

That's a tough question to answer with a simple 'right' or 'wrong'. On the one hand we are already struggling for access to trails and it is possible that illegal trail building could jeapordise this. Also, we have a duty to protect the countryside and woodlands that we enjoy and many areas have delicate ecosystems that could easily be damaged by irresponsible trail building.

But then the mass trespass of Kinder Scout springs to mind, something which was hugely beneficial to walkers. If it worked for them then surely something similar could work for mountain biking. There are many footpaths in this country that are not legally acessible to mountain bikers and where opening up access to us would have negligible impact on the environment. It works in Scotland where cyclists can use any path, there's no reason why the same shouldn't apply in the rest of the UK.

The North Shore in Canada also causes pause for thought on the issue of illegal trails. The trails there have led to an evolution in mountain biking. However, the areas of land there are so vast in comparison to anything in the UK that it is much easier for such trails to exist unnoticed and without disturbing the environment.

So yes, illegal trail building (or illegal use of existing non-bridleway trails) has some merits, but irresponsible trail building will only have negative implications for our future access rights.

Re: The MBR Big Question

Is this another one of those wow look at our new portable shower, it's so good it's made me bankrupt (plumbing in required) hooray for nokia users you're all ace and I want to give you free money type wastes of my valuable time?! If so, and I suspect so as this is your first post, feck off and keep your 'vouchers'. If not, maybe an introduction prior to 'wow look what I can give you for free!' type posting.

I would laugh my thruppenies off if Dave won the prize with this comment!

•••••• Fartblood All Terrain Cycles ••••••
Making the Stain worth the Pain since 1969

Re: The MBR Big Question

Illegal trail building could jeopardise the image that the legaltrails and trail centres have. That's not to say it isn't a good thing. Most illegally built trails will be a bit more out of the way than usual and will be less susceptible to the dog walkers and horse riders that we all go on about.

Even if we had an Open Access policy as they have in Scotland it would still be illegal to go round throwing jumps and berms in the middle of the countryside without asking first, but it sure as hell would be a lot easier. There would be more places to go so we wouldn't have the constant worry of someone walking up the trail around the next corner.